Period Piece: The Time Machine

Have you ever had the desire to tell a story in a time that isn’t the one we’re in now? Maybe a whimsical romance set in a fantastical past or a thrilling horror story set in the far future. It doesn’t just make you wonder if the two lovers in Victorian London will find one another or if Lt. Chip Beefsteak will defeat the mutinous faction aboard the massive colony spaceship bound for a new home. It also makes you think more about life and people in those Victorian era places with their lives and daily routines or focus on what a future living aboard a massive spacecraft could really be like.

A period piece can be set at any time and it really lets you play with that area as a framework for what you might create. Sometimes even using your own nostalgia can help frame a period piece into something unique and beautiful. Let’s explore a little of that together and see if, perhaps, this is something you might enjoy too, dear reader.

1. Settings

That’s a bit vague, isn’t it? Just a general setting. Well, I’d argue that having that openness is actually a huge plus. Merriam Webster defines it as “a work (as of literature, art, furniture, cinema, or music) whose special value lies in its evocation of a historical period.” There really isn’t a set guide for what counts as a period piece. Sure, there might be some opinions on that, but the vagueness works in our favor. After all, something Confessions of the Fox could be counted as one with its setting being in 18^th century London. Stranger Things has shades of that as well with its setting being in the 1980s. Really, the only limit is where you feel the most comfortable creating.

Editor’s Note: I’m elaborating briefly on a previous statement that conveys there is no “set guide” for what counts as a period piece. We are not negating the fact that the expectations for a period piece or period drama depends on what we consider to be historical or hold historical value. A “period piece,” by definition, relies on the evocation of a given time. The way that a genre is marketed won’t always fully represent the way a piece within that genre will be perceived by others. This is why we are using the term so broadly.

There are a few techniques, which we will go over later in this piece, but for now let’s focus on what setting you should choose and why. The short answer is, “Whatever you want to choose,” but that wouldn’t be very helpful, would it? Still, it is pretty accurate. If you are writing based in a specific time period, it should be a time period you enjoy writing in. If you’re not knowledgeable about 17^th century royalty practices and have no interest in researching them, then you’d be lost on writing something based in that time and place.

The first step is knowledge. “Write what you know” is an old but reliable saying, and it does apply here, too. If you already know the time and place you want your story set in, then by all means, have at it. However, you should do research as well. There will always be value in learning more about your subject. You might learn something you didn’t know about that time and place, or you could even learn that your memory on the subject could be wrong. As an example: I am currently working on something that requires some knowledge on a laptop computer from 2002. In my research, I learned that the computer did not start production in 2000, like I had assumed, but in 1998. This changed a bit of the subject matter and added some context to things that I remembered incorrectly. Never be afraid to do some research and fall into that rabbit hole, dear reader. You may find more than just the information you need for your story. You might also find a new hobby, passion, or inspiration for your next work.

How closely does your story match your setting? Telling the story of a brave knight venturing out on a quest might be a little difficult to tell if the setting is 1970’s Midwestern America. Maybe not impossible, but still a challenge. Perhaps you’re telling the story of two gothic college-age people meeting and falling in love. Setting that in North Texas in 1902 wouldn’t be the best idea. Again, I throw out nothing as impossible. You, dear reader, have always surprised and impressed me with your creativity. Still, know your challenges before you face them. Study up on the time and place where you want to create and use that knowledge to evoke the feelings and settings that will best help you. Knowing, after all, is half the battle.

2. How Do We Get There?

Well, dear reader, that’s an easy answer. Not really sure why we need a whole section on it, honestly? First we need a 1983 DMC DeLorean, some plutonium, and a flux capacitor.

That is a good question for your story. How do we get there? Let’s try a few examples. We’ll set our year as 1983.

Maybe we were already there?

It’s the summer of ‘83 and Josh Hemford and his friends are ready for the biggest trip in their young adult lives. The idea of a cross-country road trip in Eric’s old car sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, but he couldn’t deny that as the day got closer, the more he wanted this to work out.

It’s not the most subtle of examples, but it’ll do the job. From this, we can see that the year is introduced immediately, and we get a start to our story. We have a group of friends ready for a trip, and it’s the year 1983. That gets us moving quickly while establishing a few other questions. Where are they going? Who is going? Who is Eric and why is his car something to worry about? So on and so on.

Maybe we’re reading about someone as a part of a larger story?

She didn’t know why her mother’s diary was in this room or that her mother had even kept one, but this handwriting was distinctively hers. The page left open was about one night in 1983 when her mother, as a much younger woman, had discovered what she thought was a dead animal behind their home. Its fur is matted with blood and the wound seemed so horrible that I thought it must be dead or at least nearing death. Still, it breathed and tried to move. I couldn’t just leave the poor creature there even if I wasn’t sure what it was. I resolved to do my best to help.’

From this, we get a basic idea of what is happening to our main character and a good bridge to jump into a much larger backstory of whatever this creature is. Perhaps it’s only a short trip into what happened that night in 1983 or perhaps this is just the introduction to an entire story that takes place in the year 1983. Either way, we establish how the reader gets there and set them in the headspace for more to unfold.

Maybe it’s a full-on travel?

They peered out from the old barn, unsure if the device had caused any changes. Rowan had been working on this project for years. They had invested their entire savings and countless hours into it, even moving into an old house inherited from their family. Living in seclusion was a small price to pay if it meant success of the experiment. Cautiously, they reached for the small radio left as an afterthought on their workbench. Scanning the bands landed on a local news station that announced that today was March 7^th, 1983. They listened to that news broadcast for another ten minutes in stunned silence. It works. The time displacement machine works!

Sci-fi! A personal favorite of mine. In this example, we have a whole character as well as the reader, displaced in time. It’s 1983, but both your reader and your main character will have to explore this new time and place together. Will there be someone trying to stop them? Will there be action? Romance? Adventure? That’s all up to you, my creative friends.

3. Why Are We Here?

Why, indeed. Why does one need to tell a story that takes place in another time? Well, there is the most practical reason: That’s the most logical time for your story to take place. That’s not really a fun answer, though, is it? Creativity, while it has many places for practicality, is also about fun! So really, the best answer to “Why is it a story that takes place in [Insert Desired Time Here]?” It’s because this particular story has to.

Let’s use a real book as an example. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Why did Seth Grahame-Smith make a story about Abraham Lincoln being a vampire take place in the 1800s? That’s when Lincoln was alive. Why choose Abraham Lincoln? There are many stories of vampires and vampire hunters that take place in many different places and time periods, so why this? The simple answer is that he wanted to. Is there more to that, though? Absolutely! In an interview with Wicked Local, he said:

“There are things people think they know about Lincoln, but I was surprised through my own research just how much I didn’t know. ... Lincoln suffered so much tragedy and darkness in his life. Lincoln was sort of a Gothic figure.”

It makes a good story, a hell of a title, and more than enough to hook a reader and get them interested in where the narrative is going. Is Abraham Lincoln still the president in this story? Is this a different reality? Is there some kind of secret twist? I won’t spoil it.

Of course the main answer about the vast majority of your writing will always be “because I wanted to do that.” and it should be. It’s your creation, after all. “The truest form of writing is writing to oneself,” says Dan Salvato. If your art isn’t for you, then who are you doing it for? Even if it’s for a job or a company, you should still like what you made. Your art, no matter the medium, is an expression of yourself.

When making your own creation, don’t be afraid to ask yourself questions. In this case, obviously, the question is “why?”. Why are we in this time in the story? Never be afraid to play with the elements of your creation. If you find you don’t like it, you can always delete the parts you dislike and make them better. We react to the idea of editing or re-writing as if it’s a chore, but it doesn’t have to be. Revising is another chance to test new story elements and refine your style.

4. What Story Are We Telling?

A very good question, if a bit of an obvious one. Once you’ve decided that you do want to do something set in a different time and place, you must figure out what kind of story you’re wanting to tell. There is no limit, but it is a line you must draw eventually. This isn’t much of a challenge, admittedly. After all you most likely have a basic plot or character planned out by the very least, even if it’s only an idea that hasn't reached paper yet. No, the real challenges come after that.

Let’s go over a few examples:

If you are telling a story that starts at a different time, let’s say Victorian era, then it is imperative that you research. There are different designs, phrasings, colloquialisms, and customs depending on location and time. Since the story is set in this time, it’s very important that everything match properly in order to keep cohesion. After all, there would be no reason for anyone in this story to know anything about the modern era or any era that comes after the Victorian era. They simply have not happened yet. Too many anachronisms, if they aren’t being used for humor or shock value, can be distracting and off-putting. You, as the narrator, can think beyond the time period, but it’s my opinion that you shouldn’t rely on it too much.

The same can’t be said if your story is a re-telling of past events. More specifically, a story within a story. After all, if it is someone from a more modern era doing a reading or re-telling, then it would make sense to use certain parallels or examples to modern day. Still, I’d advise not leaning on that too hard. If the story you’re “re-telling” is the bulk of your story, for example, that can be distracting. Having clear moments of “cutting away” from the story within the story and back to the character reading or telling said story can give you some good moments to play with. Basically, it’s still wise to be cautious.

Of course, there is always time travel. Now this is a fun one. It is, of course, good to be studied up on all the things mentioned above but this unique example carries a lot of potential, especially if it’s a fish-out-of-time story. Someone who must learn about this new era with little or no understanding of the place they find themselves. They must learn, as so does the reader, on the fly what is and isn’t acceptable. Perhaps they have studied the place they find themselves, but modern records can only go so far. They must do what they can to keep up a façade.

5. Did Anything Change?

This can apply to all of the types of storytelling listed here and more. When you’re telling a story that involves the past or the future, you must ask what, if anything, is “estranged.”. There are a few different theories on time travel and what effect, if any, that people can have on that.

Changing The Past/Future – This one is common in science fiction but can also be something that applies to stories that are set in the past or future. Does this story alter any events that happened in history? Are these events part of the history of our own timeline and world or another? If they are altering these things, are they altering them for the better or the worse? The changes that are made, are they major or will only a small group of people notice them?

No Changes Whatsoever – Not really one that is used very often, but I’ve read a few stories where this happens. Usually, it’s set up as a twist in the end or some kind of surprise. Your characters do all they can, fighting and struggling to alter some present or future event that could lead to disaster or pain for whomever is exposed to it, only to return to their own time and realize that nothing can alter the past. They just became part of the tapestry that is the fabric of time.

The Past/Future Cannot Be Changed – This one is rare as it’s the kind of thing that is usually only used as a twist or an ending. Something like “Altering the past can’t happen because, whatever you intended to alter, was already supposed to happen. Therefore, nothing has changed.” In the case of Stephen King’s, The Langoliers, the past cannot be changed simply because it already happened. All that is left is the shadow of what used to be and, eventually, it will be devoured and destroyed. The same thing can be true for the future as well. You cannot change the future because either it cannot be altered or whatever you altered was supposed to happen no matter what.

Perhaps you hadn’t intended to change anything. That’s also fair. You don’t have to map out every event in the possible future or past in order to tell a story that takes place in a certain time and place. You just have to tell the story.

6. Conclusion

Do what you enjoy. Every piece I’ve done on writing or creativity has said the same. The most basic components of any kind of creativity are simply will and desire. You have to want it to even start working on it. Tools like this blog are here to help you focus your thoughts and help you feel that your own projects are easier to tackle and start or continue on. That’s what community is, more or less. If you want to go back in time and craft a timeless romance or travel to the distant future and fight space battles for freedom, go for it! Do both or something else entirely! Whatever you decide, always remember that it is yours and you should enjoy the process and what you make. Follow that fire, dear reader.